The present invention relates in general to embossing Braille characters, and in particular to a device for printing or typing such characters, the device being of the type having an embossing matrix provided with holes arranged according to Braille coded lines, means for moving a web to be embossed along the matrix at right angles to the lines, a series of stamping plungers for striking against the holes, means for selectively controlling the stamping plungers in response to coded signals in order to emboss selected dots in the web.
In a known device of this kind described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,269, each individual stamping plunger is controlled by an assigned solenoid which imparts to the plunger its stamping movement. The actuation of a respective stamping plunger is therefore immediately effected by the assigned solenoid. As a consequence, energy required for the control signal is relatively large, because the signal is also employed for energizing the stamping process.
In the known device the return movement of activated stamping members is accomplished by means of springs and the force of these springs must also be overcome by the solenoid. Accordingly, because of the increased magnitude of the transmitted forces, the overall construction of this known device is relatively heavy. The mass to be moved at each stroke of the stamping plunger is very large, and consequently the working speed of the device is comparatively low.